Teflon™ AF Properties

The high-performance Teflon™ AF amorphous fluoroplastic family of products offers a unique combination of superior properties for demanding, high-performance applications.

Selective Solubility

Teflon™ AF can be tailored to have narrow solubility in selected perfluoroinated solvents but remains chemically resistant to all other solvents and process chemicals. Initial experiments have shown limited solubility of 3% to 15% for certain Teflon™ AF polymers. This solubility allows you to solution-cast ultrathin coatings in the submicron thickness range. Because the family of Teflon™ AF are fluoroplastics, their adhesion to substrates may be limited, and surface treatment may be necessary to alter and enhance performance. Teflon™ AF swells in fluorochlorocarbons (e.g., Freon™).

Optical Clarity and Transmission

Because of the inherent characteristics of amorphous plastics, Teflon™ AF possesses outstanding optical clarity and transmission. As Figure 2 demonstrates, Teflon™ AF has outstanding light transmission from the deep UV range out through and including a significant portion of the IR range. Also, because it does not absorb light, Teflon™ AF will not deteriorate with exposure to light. These optical properties, over such a wide range of wavelength and possible exposure conditions, are unmatched by any other plastic.

Refractive Index

Teflon™ AF has an unusually low refractive index as shown in Figure 3. Higher Tg resins exhibit even lower indices of refraction. This property makes Teflon™ AF an excellent candidate for optical devices that can be used for higher-temperature and chemical exposures.

Electrical Characteristics

Because Teflon™ AF is a fluoroplastic, it demonstrates the outstanding characteristics of low dielectric constant and dissipation factor. Figure 4 shows the typical performance of dielectric constant over a wide range of frequencies, up to and including the high gigahertz values. Teflon™ AF has the lowest known dielectric constant of any plastic material. The dissipation factor of Teflon™ AF remains low over this same range of frequencies, as shown in Figure 5.

Unlike Teflon™ PFA, Teflon™ AF does not appreciably creep under tensile and compressive loads, as shown in Figure 7. Strength and resistance to deformation under load is unusual for most fluoroplastics.

Thermal Expansion

Most fluoroplastics display significant degrees of thermal expansion over their wide range of use temperatures, but Teflon™ AF is dramatically different, as Figure 8 shows. Teflon™ AF has the ability to stay put when cycled through wide ranges of temperature-and at higher elevated temperatures than more typical fluoroplastics.